Friday, September 19, 2014

Shades of Gray

Hey everyone! TGIF!! Today I have a dupe hunt for you.

When I first discovered Enchanted Polish, I also found out that many of the colors are hard to find. I swore to myself that I didn't need October 2013, a gorgeous dark gray holo. And so I purchased other gray holos as well as Enchanted Polish's holo top coat, Djinn in a Bottle to transform my non-holo grays.

Then someone had one for sale at a great price. And I couldn't resist, even though I had crossed it off of my ISO long ago. I figured why not buy it and see if I do need it, or if I already had a dupe for it. Thinking of you, dear readers, I decided to get it and then compare all of my grays to it in order to solve the mystery.

I didn't realize I had so many grays until I started this project. Luckily, I keep my stash on pinterest and on a free android app, so I can quickly look at what I have and choose what could be possible dupes. I've never been a fan of the spreadsheet method, I'm a visual person, so if you are too, it's a good idea to make a pinterest board or use an app to keep track of your collection. Did you ever buy an awesome color only to go home and find out you already owned it? I think we've all made that mistake! That's why I recommend the app, because when you're in the store and see that color on clearance, you can just take out your phone and check to see if you already own it.

Anyhow, onto the dupe hunt! First I took out all the grays I thought could work, either alone or with a Djinn topper.

First, I swatched all the colors, two coats each, in the order I listed above

Then I topped the non-holos (everything except October 2013, Storm Break, and Men in Black) with one coat of Djinn

Now here comes the real work: a head to head comparison of each one

(October 2013 is on top in all the head to head pics)

First we have Chanel Orage topped with Djinn

As you can see, Orage is too dark - no dupe here

Onward to Chanel Black Pearl topped with Djinn

As you can see, Black Pearl makes October look brown, which it isn't, so they definitely aren't dupes

Next Chanel Graphite, which is already a fine glitter but I put Djinn on it anyway

Graphite is too light, I do like how it looks with Djinn though :)

Then we move on to Liquid Sky Lacquer Storm Break, which I originally purchased because I couldn't find October for a good price. So this was the moment I was waiting for

I can't believe I am saying this, but Storm Break is just too holo to be a dupe. I did not put Djinn over this because it is already holo.

Moving on to OPI Nein Nein Nein Ok Fine topped with Djinn

It is too dark and olive toned to be a dupe, oh well.

Then I tried Sally Hansen Gunmetal topped with Djinn

Gunmetal is way too blue gray to be a dupe

So we move on to the other gray holo I have, Mod Lacquer Men in Black, not topped with Djinn because already holo

Men in Black is gorgeous, but too light and too holo to be a dupe

Finally we have Sally Hansen Magnetic Graphite Gravity topped with Djinn. I did not use the magnet on this obviously

It's too light but probably the closest to being a dupe

So there you have it, no exact dupe in my collection. I can justifiably own all these grays :) My recommendation, based on cost, would be to go with Liquid Sky Lacquer's Storm Break, because even though the Sally Hansen is not expensive, Djinn can be, and also hard to find at times, whereas Storm Break doesn't need Djinn and is only $12. If you find October 2013 at a good price, yes, grab it, but if you'd rather not stalk Storenvy you can easily pick up Liquid Sky Lacquer - the creator, Carolyn, restocks constantly, to the point where I sometimes wish she wouldn't because I might as well just sign my paycheck over to her!

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you check out my stash and want to see any other comparisons, let me know! I am happy to help you find dupes! In fact, I spent many hours the other night trying to dupe Enchanted Polish's 2 AM Summer Night, and I just did not have the right combo. The purple can be duped by OPI Suzi & The 7 Dusseldorfs but it needs that duochromey green flash and I don't have anything that will make that happen, but I've got the first part of the recipe down!

You can also follow me on Instagram to see my newest nail mail and manis!

Enchanted Polish, as I mentioned, is hard to find - your best bet is Storenvy, Facebook, Instagram, or eBay, also stockists like Mei Mei and Nail Polish Canada. You can sign up for Enchanted Polish's newsletter and find more info on restocks from their Instagram.